By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : The United States says it would support more dialogue between India and Pakistan but has ruled out the appointment of a special envoy to deal with Kashmir that Islamabad contends is the key issue with New Delhi.
“No, there’s – there are no plans to that effect,” State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters Tuesday when asked if there was any prospect of a special envoy to be appointed specifically for Kashmir.
The US, he said, clearly supported more dialogue between India and Pakistan and the US Under Secretary of State William Burns will talk about it with many other issues on his agenda during his visit to New Delhi.
“Clearly, we would support more dialogue” between India and Pakistan, Kelly said when asked if the US was pushing for a resumption of peace talks between the two countries as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had expressed a desire to resume the bilateral dialogue with Islamabad.
“I’m sure that Under Secretary Burns will talk about this issue among the many issues that he has on his agenda,” he added.
In a policy speech before parliament Tuesday Manmohan Singh had expressed India’s willingness to meet Pakistan “more than halfway” if the latter takes “strong, effective and sustained action” against terrorists.
Burns and the new Assistant Secretary for South Central Asia Robert Blake are in New Delhi for the first high level contact between the Obama Administration and the Manmohan Singh government after its return to power in the parliamentary elections.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])